Safety envelope



E. w. OWEN;

SAFETY ENVELOPE. APPLICATION FILED mac. 9, 1920.

1,4123%, Patented pr. 11, m2.

INVE/VT'OR A TTOB/VE Y8 EDWARD W. OVJEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y,

Application filed December 9, 1920.

Be it known that I, EDWARD citizen of the United States,

SAFETY ENVELOPE.

Specif cation of Letters Patent.

W. OWEN, a

and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Man hattan, in the county and State of New York,

have invented a new and Improved Safety Envelope, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in envelopes,

aims to provide an envelope ireptitious tampering with or opening of identified.

envelope is readily Reference is had drawings, in which- Figure 1 is to the envelope and lcttersheet in open or position;

Fig. 2 s a perspective of the steps in the operation envelope Fig. 3

and it in whlch surthe accompanying a perspective view of the unfolded view showing one of closing the is a similarview showing a more advanced step in the operation of closing the envelope;

Fig. 4 is perspective view of the device in closed position;

Fig. 5 isa detail perspective view of a portion of the device showing the member carried by the lettersheet, and

F 6 is sectional View on an enlarged scaie showing the position which the se'voral parts occupy when the device is closed.

Referring more particularly to the drawthe reference character and B designa be received ings, the envelope, sheet adapted to A designates tes the lettertherein. The

envelope A is provided with side flaps 10 and end flaps 11 and 12. The end flap 11 is longer than the end flap flap 11 is provided at guinmcd surface 1;.

end of each of the end flaps tongues 14, and said tongues edges cut or serrated reference character 15, of said tongues being in size as indicated by the r 12, and said end its outer end with a Projecting from the 11 and 12 are 1 1 have their as indicated by the the free end of each tapered or reduced eference character 16. Each of the side flaps 10 is cut to provide an opening disposed point. as more Fig. 1, and to form an opening 21 at its the body of the envelope A.

The lettersheet B is adapte twice as shown in Fig. 1, and has been folded once a me one of said side flaps at a centrally clearly shown iii 10 is cut juncture with d to be folded after the same tallic member sheet B, one tongue 30 being Patented ipiu'ilii, 1922.

Serial No. 4129, 145.

23 is positioned therein as shown in Fig. 1.

The remaining two leaves of the lettersheet B are cut to provide registering slots or openings 24:, which when these leaves are folded over, register wit-h a slot 25 in the top of the metallic member 23. By refercnce to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the -ietallic member 23 comprises a strip of metal, the ends of which overlap as indicated by the reference character 26. The cut-out openings 25 of the ends are brought into registry and retained in this position by means of tongues 27 bent inwardly of the cut-out portions, the tongues 27 being carried by that end member disposed upon the upper side. This metallic member is retained in place upon the lettersheet B by means of tongues 30 received in slots 30, there being one of these tongues upon each oi? its opposite ends, offset with respect to the bottom 31 of the metallic member 28 in order that the metallic member be retained in place upon the lettersheet.

T he operation of the device is as follows:

:l he metallic member 23 having been properly placed in position upon the letterfirst engaged inthe slot 30 corresponding thereto in the manner shown in Figure 1 of the drawings and then by forcing the projecting end of the tongue 30 entirely through the slot 30, the end of the tongue 80 at the opposite side will be in position to enter the corresponding slot at that side by imparting a turning or angular movement to said member, the lettersheet is folded over with the opening 2 f in registry with the opening 25 in the upper face of the metallic member. The side flaps 10 of the envelope A are now folded over with their openings 20 in registry with the opening 25 in the metallic member 23. With the parts in this position, the tongues lat are inserted through the openings 2d, one of said tongues being shown in this position in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

With the ends of the tongues inserted in the openings 2% and 25.,a. key ll) inserted into the opening 21 and the reduced ends 16 of the tongues let are grasped by the key and said tongues are wound upon the key within the metallic member 23 as more clearly shown in Fig. 6. After the tongues 6, the key is removed and the tongues and said tongues are have been wound up as shown in rolled together to occupy a position within the metallic member 23. After this has been done, the gummed portion 13 of the end flap 11 is moistened thus sealing the envelope.

Should an unauthorized person attempt to open the envelope, the removal of the tongues would result in a severing thereof along the lines 15; Owing to the angular disposition of the serrations 15, they could not be withdrawn through the openings 24 and 25 without effecting a rupture of the tongues.

If it is desiredto more securely close the envelope or package, it is only necessary to exert a. slight pressure on the top thereof, which pressure will crush the metallic member 23 and cause it to more firmly grip the rolled tongues 14.

I claim:

l. A device of the character described comprising an envelope blank, a lettersheet, and a plurality of tongues formed integral a with the blank and adapted to be rolled one upon the other within the lettersheet when the envelope blank is in closed position.

2. A device of the character described comprising a normally open envelope blank, a lettersheet adapted be received therein in folded position, and a plurality of tongues carried by the envelope blank and adapted to be rolled one upon the other between the folds of the lettersheet within said envelope blank.

3. A device of the character described comprising an envelope blank having side flaps provided with openings, tongue projecting from each flaps,

within the envelope blank, the tongues of said envelope blank being passed through the openings Within the side flaps .of said envelope blank, said tongues being rolled one upon the other within the envelope blank between the folds of the lettersheet.

4-. A device of the character described comprising an envelope blank having side flaps provided with openings adapted to register one with the other when-the envelope blank is closed, end flaps formed on the envelope blank, a tongue projecting from the outer end of each of'said end flaps, a lettersheet adapted to be received within the envelope blank in folded position, said lettersheet being adapted to register with openings in the side flap of the envelope blank when'said lettersheet is positioned therein, and means for folding-thetongues of the end flaps of the envelope blank one upon the other between the folds of the lettersheet.

5. A device of the character described comprising an envelope blank, a lettersheet blank, a metallic member carried by the lettersheet blank between the folds thereof, tongues carried by the envelope blank and adapted. to be received within the metallic member carried by the lettersheet blank, and means for wrapping said tongues one upon the other within the metallic member after the envelope blank-has been closed.

EDWARD W. OWEN.

provided with openings 

